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Lucky Duck Espresso is tucked away in Highgate Hill in Brisbane. It’s a surprise then to find it’s such a creative mecca and loved by coffee lovers from far and wide.

I chat with Emma Bertoldi about the cafe, art and inspiration.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do…
I am a comic illustrator, graffiti artist, t-shirt designer, curator/ events organizer, freelancer for hire and four legged coffee making monkey… I also run an awesome espresso bar ‘Lucky Duck’ in Highgate Hill.

Tell us a little bit about Lucky Duck
Justine Sinclair, who owns and baristas ‘Posto’ espresso in West End, Brisbane, opened ‘The Duck’ as the locals are now calling about six months ago.

I believe that her first shop being located in West End may be part of the reasoning behind choosing Highgate Hill as a location. That and Gladstone Road is just a short distance away from busier districts of Brisbane such as West End, South Bank, CBD, Fortitude Valley, so the Duck supplies a little escape for customers but with the ability to continue on their path with ease.

Tell us about the illustrations on the walls of Lucky Duck, how did they come about and who painted them?
When I started working at Lucky Duck this beautiful white wall was teasing me everyday. Seeing as there is a very short supply of wall space throughout Brisbane that is legal to paint on I had a chat over an espresso with the owner Justine Sinclair. It is a rare pleasure when the owner of an establishment is keen to support such a commonly tabooed art form.

Artists:
Emma Bertoldi / M.Dambinatrix, Shani Bijoux, Jamie Brown/ Dizni, Shaun Campbell /Squidtank, Stephen Gregory, Cormac Moore and Shida, + 3 little girls that got their paint on Jazzy, Jane and Amber.

The other side of the Duck has skateboards designed by QLD artists dangling from the wall. So the espresso bar is exploding with eye candy for you to peruse while sipping on a lovely latte.

Was there a particular design process involved?
For a bit of fun we made a mini competition of painting the wall. With prizes supplied by ‘Butter Beats’ and Justine Sinclair.

In advance we gave the artists’ the theme of ‘Duck(s)’ to be expressed through their own interpretation, size specifications and they could use whatever medium to produce the piece.

On the day the artists’ arrived and picked a spot on the wall to let loose their design and ‘Wicked Campers’ supplied a range of aerosol paint for the artist to play with.

What is Lucky Duck’s point of difference? What makes you unique?
We are just trying to get back to the basics of excellent coffee and a welcoming atmosphere + we have lots of artistic eye candy to sweeten your experience.

Who is your customer, who frequents Lucky Duck?
We have customers from all walks of life…

I have actually had at one time: a couple of older ladies sipping on the half strength, skinny, decaf cappuccino reading a little gossip magazine, a group of tattoo clad, alternative young women waiting for their appointment at ‘Chop’ hair saloon are discussing graffiti or the latest club night, a few dreaded hippy musicians ordering soy mochas, a mother and her little boy playing with his wrestler dolls, a school kid performing magic tricks and a lady with the biggest dog I have ever seen!

How do you market the cafe, what marketing approach works for your customer base?
‘Word of Mouth’

How would you describe the Brisbane creative scene?
Brisbane’s creative scene is definitely growing. There are a lot of places that have popped up over the years that are strongly supporting the arts such as The Fort, Josh Levi’s Gallery, Out Post, Cylinder, Nine Lives Gallery, Jugglers and so many more.

What would you like to see Brisbane do better / what would you like more of?
More legal walls and more businesses joining in on this form of artistic expression.

I do believe the government is finally putting in place the ‘alley-way’ project, which will convert some derelict passages through Brisbane into beautiful walls of art. Which I look forward to viewing and hopefully getting in on the action.

Favourite art work that you own? Who is it by and why is it your favourite?
When I moved to Brisbane almost a decade ago I adored this underground comic ‘Phatzville’ especially the art work of Benjamine Constantine and Giles / Fat Ankle.

In 2009 I organized an exhibition ‘Plank! A Skate Deck Art Bonanza’. Ben C and Fat Ankle both designed a board for the show and out of the 60+ boards on display these were my favourites and thus why they are now decorating my studio.

Do you have a saying or a motto that you go by?
Be adventurous, try everything and if it doesn’t work, laugh.

Finish this sentence – Creativity is important because…
It helps me make the best pasta sauces!

What are you working on next?
This year I had a piece in ‘Give A Trunk’ at Monster Children Gallery in Sydney. I’ve been illustrating comics for the annual ‘Phatzville’ publication, T-shirt designing for a couple of labels and will be next working on a piece for the charity exhibition ‘Cluster’ being held in April at Josh Levi’s Gallery.

Lucky Duck 15 Gladstone Rd, Highgate Hill, QLD 4101

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